If you are in the UK and your phone still throws Disney+ at the telly without complaint, relax. This one is not about you. Yet.
Disney+ has switched off Google Cast (the Chromecast button) and Apple's AirPlay for subscribers in Germany and the Netherlands. Not because the feature broke. Because a patent court said Disney can't use it there without a licence, and Disney decided that removing the button was cheaper than paying for it. Somewhere in Burbank a spreadsheet is very happy. The people in Hamburg trying to get Bluey from a phone onto a television are less happy.
I checked again this week to see whether it had quietly come back. As far as anyone has reported, it hasn't.
What actually happened
On 2 September 2026 the Düsseldorf local division of the Unified Patent Court ruled in InterDigital v Disney (case UPC_CFI_297/2025). The patent, EP 2 080 349, is about passing media from one device to another. The order bites in Germany and the Netherlands, and it names Disney+ web streaming through Chrome and the Disney+ apps for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. In other words, the things you cast from. The penalty for ignoring it starts at €10,000 per violation, which is the sort of number that makes a button disappear very quickly.
Broadcast counts it as InterDigital's third injunction against Disney at the UPC and the eighth overall since the fight started in February 2025. Google Cast went first, in early September. FlatpanelsHD reported on 15 September that AirPlay 2 was being switched off too, across the Android, iOS, Windows and macOS apps, with an error message saying the feature isn't available in your country. heise confirmed both had stopped working in Germany the next day. Disney then confirmed to Golem on 18 September that AirPlay had been removed because of the court case, in Germany and in the Netherlands.
Disney's own wording, given to Pirates & Princesses, is careful: casting “from a mobile device or browser via Chromecast is currently unavailable for Disney+ customers in Germany and the Netherlands.” Note the word “currently”. Corporate for “please stop emailing us”.
Is it still switched off in October?
Yes, as far as I can find. On 6 October the German site Apfelpage was still listing Chromecast and AirPlay 2 among the features Disney+ has lost. I checked again on 9 October and found no report of casting coming back, no announced licence deal between Disney and InterDigital, and no report that the UPC Court of Appeal has paused the order. heise put it plainly in September: nobody knows when it returns. I'm not going to guess either. Patent fights end when the lawyers say so, not when we'd like.
Why the UK isn't affected
This patent is only in force in Germany and the Netherlands, according to heise, so this particular order stops at those two borders. UK subscribers, US subscribers and everyone else outside those two countries keep the cast button.
One small caveat for travellers. The error message is based on the country you're in. Nobody has published a test from a UK account on holiday in Amsterdam, so I'd plan as if casting from the hotel won't work and bring a plan B.
Who is actually hit
- People who cast from a phone, tablet or laptop in Germany or the Netherlands. That is the whole point of the order: the sending side.
- People with an older Chromecast dongle, the kind with no remote and no app store. That device only gets Disney+ by being cast to. My reading: with casting gone, Disney+ on that dongle is effectively gone too.
- Apple households that used AirPlay from an iPhone or Mac to a TV, rather than opening Disney+ on the TV or Apple TV itself.
What still works
The order is about casting, not about Disney+ itself. The court's own decision notes that people reach Disney+ through browsers and through the app on phones, computers, smart TVs and streaming devices such as Apple TV and Fire TV Stick. Nothing I've read says the native TV apps have been touched.
- The Disney+ app on the TV itself. If your smart TV has it, open it there. One more remote to find down the sofa, but it plays.
- The Disney+ app on a streaming box or stick: Apple TV, Fire TV, Google TV devices and the like. Use the app on the device rather than casting to it.
- Watching on the phone, tablet or laptop itself. Disney+ still plays there. It just won't hand the stream to the TV.
Practical fix if you're affected: put the Disney+ app on whatever is plugged into the TV, sign in once, and stop relying on the cast button for Disney. It takes five minutes and removes the problem until the lawyers sort themselves out.
Who can ignore all this
Anyone in the UK, frankly. Your bigger Disney+ decision this month is the price and plan change, which I covered in the UK Ads Saver deadline piece. If you're weighing up ad tiers on a Google TV stick, this one covers what actually changes.
The wider pattern is the bit I'd keep an eye on. Broadcast reports that after an earlier ruling Disney pulled 4K and HDR across 11 European countries rather than license the technology, then brought 4K back on some devices with a different codec while HDR stays off. Each time, subscribers pay the same and get a little less. That is not a patent story. That is a value-for-money story, and it is worth checking what your plan still includes before the next bill lands.
Best IPTV boxes to buy
These are certified Android TV / Google TV media boxes and sticks that can run players and licensed apps from Google Play. They are not pirate hardware. They do not come with channels or playlists. I am not claiming I personally lab-tested every SKU this month.
Buy one of these when: Fire TV sideload is a hassle on your model, you want Play Store apps on a proper TV OS, or you want a dedicated player shell behind the sofa. No Fire TV device is on this shortlist.
- NVIDIA SHIELD TV Pro: the premium pick, a certified Android TV player with AI upscaling, Dolby Vision/Atmos and Gigabit Ethernet for the main living-room telly. Amazon UK | Amazon US | Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon IT
- Google TV Streamer 4K: solid Google TV living-room default with Ethernet, 32GB storage and Dolby Vision/Atmos. Amazon UK | Amazon US | Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon IT
- Xiaomi TV Box S (3rd Gen): Google TV box with 32GB storage, Wi-Fi 6 and Dolby Vision/Atmos, the cheaper box route than the Streamer. Amazon UK | Amazon US | Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon IT
- Xiaomi TV Stick 4K (2nd Gen): budget Google TV stick with Wi-Fi 6 and Dolby Vision/Atmos when you want HDMI-simple, not a full box. Amazon UK | Amazon US | Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon IT
- Strong LEAP-NOVA: Google TV certified 4K stick on Android 14 with 32GB storage, Wi-Fi 6 and Dolby Vision, for a second telly. Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon IT
- MECOOL MEon1: Google TV certified 4K box with AI upscaling and 32GB storage for a dedicated player behind the sofa. Amazon UK
Still shopping for a Fire TV device? Fine for Prime Video and the Appstore universe. Not the shortlist above. And none of these boxes magically make unlicensed streams legal.
Sources
- UPC Düsseldorf local division decision, 2 September 2026 (PDF)
- FlatpanelsHD, 15 September 2026
- Broadcast, 3 September 2026
- heise, 16 September 2026 and heise on the third injunction
- Golem, 18 September 2026 (Disney confirmation, DE and NL)
- Pirates & Princesses, 11 September 2026 (Disney statement)
- Apfelpage, 6 October 2026
Written by Dr Husham Memar
